How to understand your target audience on social media

Every business solves specific problems or fulfils a desire for a unique group of people. While there might be a few similarities between businesses, it's highly unlikely that our audiences are identical. You see, everyone has a distinct niche in which they operate. So, before you even consider starting your social media content plan or getting wrapped up in a strategy, there is an essential step: Understanding and defining your target audience.

I can’t emphasise HOW important it is to understand your audience. And don’t turn around and say, “Well, I don’t have one, my business is relevant to everyone.” That simply isn’t true. There will be many limiting factors as to why someone might not buy from you or invest in your services and it is crucial to understand them.

The clearer you are your target audience, the easier it is to sell to them. It doesn’t limit you - It makes your marketing SO much easier.

In this blog post, I am going to dig deeper into how you can establish who your target audience is.

Getting started

It is likely that you already have some idea of who your ideal customer is. You are already selling your products or services to them! When you created your product or service, it’s also likely that you had a particular group of people in your mind whilst you were creating it.

There are two ways to look at your target audience:

• Relevant demographic

• Psychographic demographic

Both are important, but if we are trying to tap into emotions and evoke a reaction, understanding the psychographic demographic is particularly powerful. So what do they mean?

What is relevant demographic?

Relevant demographics are the easily quantifiable characteristics of your audience. They are things that you can see, count or measure. While not every element may be applicable to your business (e.g., location for virtual services or nationwide product shipping), these specifics offer a solid foundation for understanding your audience.

When thinking about your audience’s relevant demographic, you need to think about:

• Age

• Gender

• Location

• Life stage

• Income

• What social platforms they use

Let’s take one of my clients as an example. They are a fashion-boutique that appeals to women over the age of 40, primarily based in Woburn Sands and Leighton Buzzard. They have a moderate amount of disposable income. This doesn’t mean that younger customers can’t buy from them, it just means that their content primarily speaks to that group of people.

What is psychographic demographic?

Psychographic demographics are less tangible, but I believe this is where the magic happens! Especially if you are a smaller business, this is the element that really taps into the emotional reactions of your audience which we all know is a very powerful thing to do. By addressing their pain points, sharing their ambitions, and speaking to their values, your content becomes not just informative but emotionally compelling. These are the elements that bind communities together, as your audience will share these commonalities.

When thinking about your audience’s psychographic demographic, you need to think about:

• Paint points/Challenges

• Interests

• Desires/Ambitions

• Values

Let’s use my fashion-boutique clients as an example. We will take it a step further by adding that our 40+ female audience are mainly style-conscious women who want to look and feel good in the clothes they are wearing. They find it challenging to shop at high street names like M&S etc. because they don’t get a personal service and they don’t know where to find clothes that suit their body shape.

Can you see how that would help us to create very specific content on social media for that audience?

Now go implement!

Now, I encourage you to take some time to reflect on your business and your audience:

• Consider the types of people who reach out to you

• Identify the values, challenges and desires that they share

• Reflect on how they discover your business (which channels?)

Next, I would recommend checking your insights on your primary platforms and identifying whether the demographics match up with your target audience. If it doesn’t, start creating content for the audience you want to reach. Don’t make the mistake of creating content that engages your peers - You want to be reaching people who will actually buy from you.

By understanding both the relevant and psychographic demographics, you'll be better equipped to create content that not only reaches your target audience but also deeply connects with them. This, in turn, will help you build stronger, more meaningful relationships with your online community and lead to more effective content strategies.

So, take this knowledge and start crafting content that truly resonates with the people who need your products or services. Your audience is waiting to hear from you, and the better you understand them, the more you can help them.

If you’re not sure where to start and want support in coming up with ideas that resonate with your audience, check out this blog post where I share tips on creating a social media content plan or book a Pick My Brains session with me!